May 23, 2004

WILMINGTON, NC-- The Baseball Monarchs (26-26/13-11) will open the 2004 CAA Championships against the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington (33-20/17-6), Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Brooks Field.

ODU defeated UNCW Thursday night, 3-2 behind the strong pitching of Justin Verlander and Donnie Smith, but the Seahawks ended ODU's 11-game winning streak and won the last two games of the regular season.

The rest of the CAA Championship pairings which will be held May 26-29 at Brooks Field on the campus of UNC Wilmington. The winner of the six-team, double-elimination tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Baseball Championship.

Top-seeded George Mason (37-15, 20-4 in CAA) will face #6 Delaware (30-22, 12-11 in CAA) at noon on Wednesday in the tournament's first game, followed by #3 Virginia Commonwealth (33-22, 14-10 in CAA) against #4 William & Mary 37-18, 14-10 in CAA) at 3:30 p.m. The final game at 7 p.m. on Wednesday will feature #2 UNC Wilmington (33-20, 17-6 in CAA) against #5 Old Dominion (26-26, 13-11 in CAA).

Action resumes at noon on Thursday, with the loser of the Mason/Delaware game facing the loser of UNCW/ODU at noon, followed by the winner of the Mason/Delaware contest against the loser of the VCU/W&M game at 3:30. At 7 p.m., the winner of the VCU/W&M game meets the winner of the UNCW/ODU game.

Matchups for the final two days won't be determined until after Thursday's action.

For adults, tournament passes are $20, a single-day pass is $10 and admission to the final game of the day is $5. For youth (6-12 yrs), tournament passes are $12, single-day passes are $6 and the final game of the day is $3. Kids 5 years and younger are free. Tickets can be ordered online at www.uncwsports.com or by calling 910-962-3233.

For complete coverage of the tournament, including live stats and links to internet radio broadcasts, visit the official CAA Baseball Championship Web Site, which can be accessed from both www.caasports.com and www.uncwsports.com.

 Tournament Pairings

12 Noon   #1 George Mason vs. #6 Delaware
3:30 p.m. #3 VCU vs. #4 William and Mary
7:00 p.m. #2 UNC Wilmington vs. #5 ODU